The Avatar: A New Legend
by Lightweight
Summary: As the cycle of the generations march on, a new Avatar must take the duties left by the Avatars of old. 70 years after the third Spirit Portal is opened, in the quiet streets of South Omashu, a huge destiny is about to unfold. [NOTE: SPOILERS FOR A:TLA/LoK WILL BE PRESENT!]
1. Prologue and Chapter 1: New Omasu

NKB Productions Present a story by Lightweight:

_**The Avatar: A New Legend**_

Based on the A:TLA/LoK Universe created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

DISCLAIMER: Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra is owned by Nickelodeon/Viacom and created by Bryke. I own nothing of the sort. All original characters, settings and story, however, are mine.

PROLOGUE

In my lifetime, I have seen many things. I have seen how the world has changed into a bigger and grander place. Trips that would take weeks to make are traversed in a handful of hours. Things that took months to finish are now done within a day. Societies and villages previously cut off from the rest of the world are now being increasingly discovered and adopted into the world at large.

I have seen the growth of my family. From a family that looked like the last great hope in keeping a culture alive to a thriving civilization. My children and grandchildren all have learned the family trade and are using it to help others, as it was established by my father long ago. They, too, see the stark contrast that seventy years can bring, even between our home and the rest of the world.

Everything changes. People move on. Bigger and better things always seem to be on the way. And as they learn new skills and abilities, people tend to forget other things which were once essential to themselves.

But in my Eighty-four years, if I have learned something, it's that the world always needs its Avatar.

CHAPTER 1: New Omashu

"MOVE!" A man yelled out to some people standing by a car. The people muttered angrily for a second about it being too early in the morning for badmouthing, but then they saw who was behind the man: a pregnant woman sweating profusely, with bloodshot eyes, flushed face and breathing deeply to try and remain calm. They quickly moved out as the man fumbled with his keys and opened the passenger door to let his wife in.

"Mika! Mika!" the woman yelled as she looked around, expecting a third person nearby. "Where is she?"

"COMING, SIS!" Mika yelled as she ran to the car. "Let's see… pillows, blankets and your stuff. That's all. Ok, Howl, we can go."

"Oh, thank goodness." Said Howl as he saw his sister-in-law get in the back seat. "Don't worry, Meili, we'll be at the hospital soon enough."

And without much delay, Howl drove the small white car through the streets of Omashu like a pro, weaving in and out of traffic and nearly avoiding crashing into others a good couple of times.

"You know, we could do without the death-defying stunts." Mika suggested as she saw Howl miss another vehicle for the tenth time.

"Not now, Mika!" Howl growled, trying to keep his entire concentration on the road. Just then, he saw the hospital sign. "It's just around the corner. Hang on a…" And just as he was about to turn, he heard the unmistakable siren of a police car. He braved a quick look to confirm that the cop car was indeed chasing him. "...crap."

"Oh, no, Howl!" Meili yelled. "This baby wants out, and that cop won't stop him! So don't you dare stop now!"

"That's what got me at the altar…" Howl muttered, just as he performed an expert drift to line himself perfectly with the hospital's dropoff area. He tried to ignore Mika's screams and sped towards the hospital, stopping right behind an ambulance with just seconds to spare before the cops caught up. "Mika…"

"Go!" Mika said, shoving the bag of stuff to Howl. "Stay by Meili's side! I'll deal with the cops."

Howl didn't need to be told twice. He ran out of the car, picked up a wheelchair and sat his wife in it. Just as he was rushing in, he noticed Mika reasoning with the police. The guy had a particularly nasty look on his face, but Mika knew how to defend herself.

As soon as they were inside the hospital, nurses rushed to Meili's wheelchair and took her away, taking her vitals. One stayed behind to gather information from Howl as the hospital intercom rang out, paging the doctor in turn to the operating room. After what seemed to be an eternity and half of answering questions, Howl was allowed to join his wife's side just as the doctor casually walked in.

"So…" the Doctor began, walking towards Meili's other side. "how is the proud soon-to-be-mother?"

Meili quickly grabbed the doctor by the collar and pulled him down, forcing him to look into her eyes that spoke death and despair. "I feel like ten monkey cats are trying to rip me apart from the inside, so get to doing your job, or so help me I will rip_ you _apart!" And she unceremoniously shoved him away, almost making him drop a platter of medical instruments with him.

"Well… uh, ok." the doctor composed himself and fixed his glasses. "Shall we begin? Nurse Angie, if you please."

Mika was sitting in the waiting room, twiddling her thumbs in quiet expectation. She managed to smooth things over with the stern policeman, explaining the situation about her sister being in labor and not having time to wait for an ambulance. (Embellishing it with a fantastical story about the kid earthbending from the belly sure helped things along, too.) Sadly, she was not really sure where they took her sister, so all she could do for now was wait until there were news.

"Hey, what's that? What are they talking about?" Someone behind Mika said, pointing to the television. "Hey, miss receptionist, raise the volume on that TV."

Now everybody in the room was interested in the TV, Mika included. So the receptionist turned up the TV's volume, and the newscaster's voice came in clear.

"We repeat." the anchorman continued his broadcast on the TV. "Avatar Korra has passed away. Early reports say that the 81-year old Avatar died peacefully in her sleep less than half an hour ago. Avatar Korra is most fondly remembered for opening the Spirit Portals, thus allowing humans and spirits to live together, being a key player in the rebirth of the Air Nation and using Sozin's Comet, once a feared tool of destruction, to ignite the world's biggest power source, which is still running today. We will bring more news concerning the Avatar's death as they turn up."

"Wow" was all that came out of Mika's mouth. The people sitting around her, however, were a lot chattier about it.

"The Avatar's dead?"

"No way! I saw her just a week ago!"

"I loved the Avatar. She was the best one! I only knew one Avatar, but still…"

"So now the next Avatar will be from the Earth Kingdom, right?"

"Hey, wasn't that your cousin that came in and was about to have a baby?" a woman asked Mika.

"My sister, actually." Mika answered. "And I know where you're going with that, and trust me, my family doesn't have that kind of luck."

"Mika? There you are!" Howl peeked into the waiting room, unbeknownst of the burning theme of conversation. "Meili's waiting for you. Come on!"

Mika dropped all pretenses of a conversation with the woman in the waiting room and set off to follow Howl. It took a few twists and turns through the labyrinthine hospital, but eventually they both made it to the maternity ward. Upon entering a room, Mika saw a simple, yet beautiful sight: Meili was sitting on a bed with a tired, yet blissful expression on her face. On her arms she held a newborn child with slight strands of jet black hair sleeping soundly. "Wow" Mika managed to whisper.

However slight Mika's whisper was, it seemed to rouse up the baby, who woke up lazily and looked slightly at the source of the sound before turning at Meili. "You're a good boy, aren't you? And very handsome, too."

"No thanks to his father, it seems." Mika added jokingly, earning her some glares from Howl. Willing to change the subject, Mika asked: "So, have you guys settled on a name?"

This question left Howl quite pensive. For the past nine months, Meili and he have been throwing names around, and when they knew he was going to be a boy, they redoubled efforts, but couldn't quite find the perfect name for their child. Now that he was born, finding the perfect name just became a little more important than before.

Mika decided to close in and try to hold the baby's hand. When the baby felt his aunt's finger, he gripped as hard as he could muster, which was a surprisingly strong grip for a newborn. "Whoa, he is strong!" Mika noticed. "That's the grip of an earthbender. I should know."

"Hey!" Howl interjected. "How about… Ralis?"

"Ralis…" Meili repeated, pensive.

"Ralis?" Mika questioned.

"What?" Meili asked. "I think it sounds cute. It suits him."

"He'll have that name for the rest of his life." Mika complained. "When he reaches twelve he'll be embarrassed to be called that."

Meili thought about that for a second, and then she had a radical idea. "Well, why don't we ask him? He _is _the one who will have that name." Meili looked at the baby, and the baby seemed to respond by turning his little head towards his mother. "So, what do you think? Do you like the name Ralis? Is it good enough for you?" And then, almost as if he could perfectly understand his mother's words, the baby cracked a simple yet unmistakable smile and began cooing happily. "Well, I guess that settles it."

"Well… alright." Mika said. She then pointed in mock-accusation to the baby. "But remember that _you_ chose it."

Howl moved in closer to his wife and began to gently stroke his child's head. "Our little Ralis. Our firstborn. He has your eyes, you know." He said to Meili. He then turned his attention to his newborn boy "I wonder, what kind of surprises does life hold for you, and where will they take you."

As they stayed in that position admiring the baby, Mika just understood what she had heard from Howl. "Wow, that was incredibly corny. You know, I'm just gonna go get something to eat. You guys want anything?" In answer, both Meili and Howl shook their heads. "Oh, well, suit yourselves." And with that, Mika was out the door.

As she was walking out, however, her thoughts led her back to that moment not too long ago when her newborn nephew grabbed her finger tightly. 'A bit too tightly', she thought. 'I'd expect something like that from a five-year old, and even a 3-year old, but a newborn? Something's going on with that kid…'

"Ha! I gotcha now!"

"No way, Wulong! I just got started!"

"What do you… Wh… where did you get that?"

"Remember my Birdy? It evolved yesterday."

"Oh, crap. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!"

"Boom! I win!"

"No fair, Ralis! I call shenanigans!"

"RALIS!" A sudden adult female voice rang out. The young boy opened his eyes like saucers in alarm and tried to stuff his City Boy in his pocket before he realized he was still tethered to his friend's handheld. A short, black-hair woman walked into the room and caught them right in the act of trying to hide the evidence. "So you skip your training because you decided to play some videogame? What kind of excuse is this?"

"No, no… you see, Aunt Mika, it's like this…" Ralis began, trying to come up with something on the go that could pacify his clearly ticked off aunt. He looked at his abandoned backpack and began flapping his lips. "I was quite ready, see? But… but then I realized I had to do something before noon, or else I would never be able to anymore… and… and…"

"And I stopped him." Wulong interrupted. He stood right beside his friend in confidence, being a few inches taller than Ralis. "It's my fault he got distracted. I'm sorry, Sifu Mika."

Mika looked at the two boys in front of her. It looked like their downcast faces showed they got all the talking-to they needed. Dropping her scary angry face, she sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if your parents were right in giving you that thing for your tenth birthday present. Now come along now, and stuff that videogame away until _after_ training, please?"

So Ralis and Wulong got out of the former's house and followed Mika through the streets of South Omashu. It was a calm day, and it shouldn't be much surprise, as South Omashu lucked out in being one of the few places in the Great Omashu Expansion project that ended up relatively sparcely built upon and populated. Some even call the area "The suburbs of Omasu". Ralis' family wasn't exactly rich, but they had secured a spot of land thanks to Howl's employer giving him the land as a reward for many years of excellent work. It was a simple one-story house, a contrast to the more elaborate two-story houses surrounding it, but it was still nice-looking and gave a definitive "this is home" vibe.

They walked north, through a couple of blocks, until they got to a rather long plot of land surrounded by an iron fence with a rather small building in the corner. Ralis sighed when he saw a black car parked by the building. Mika could've driven them here, but he knew she was trying to teach them a lesson… or perhaps this was part of their training. He could never figure out his aunt.

Inside the building, there were green-lined scrolls adorning the walls, as well as a series of pictures depicting Mika in several tournaments either as a champion or with a group of people. On a wall a large sign announced: "Sifu Mika's Earthbending School". Despite coming from a humble family, Mika's skills as an earthbender and a teacher were well-respected, even if it involved some unorthodox methods. And Ralis feared Mika was going to go unorthodox on him.

Once on the outdoors training grounds, Ralis and Wulong found 2 large spherical rocks tethered together by a chain on one end, and a thick white line adorned with flags on the other. "Now this one is all about coordination and teamwork." Mika announced. "Move your rock to the end line over there. If you're off or try to rush your way through, you could end up messing up your partner or facing potential harm. Now go!"

"Wait! Aunt Mi…" Ralis began, but was quickly shut by Mika's stare, which let him know there was not going to be any family favoritism in her training school. "Sifu Mika, aren't you going to explain how we should do it?"

"I did." Mika answered. "Half an hour ago, when the whole class was here. Now get to it!"

Ralis and Wulong sighed in unison. Going unorthodox again, and this time, there wasn't any instruction to accompany the method. It was at times like these that they wondered if Monster Master was worth it. After some quick thinking, they decided to use the simplest earthbending move they knew to push the rocks. They stood in front of their respective stones and assumed the stance. "Alright, on three." Wulong said. "One… Two… Three!"

Nothing. The rock did not budge. Surprised, they looked to Mika, who would only look them back with a wry smile on her face. "Hey! What gives?" Wulong asked.

"Oh, there is a trick to it." Mika conceded. "Earthbenders tend to tackle their challenges head on, but I've seen that can make even the best of the best vulnerable. Think. What could be grounding that rock to impede your progress?" And with that, she simply walked back and let the boys handle the rest on their own.

Ralis and Wulong wracked their heads to come up with a plausible solution. They circled the rocks and seemed to find nothing except the chain tethering them. It did look like the rocks were in some small dip in the ground, though. Wulong tried lifting the heavy rock to see if he could make headway, and just then he discovered something impressive. The rock was not round, but rather was just the tip of a large cone-shaped rock buried underground. "Ralis! Ralis!" Wulong shouted. "Quickly! Lift your rock!"

Ralis wasted no time and began earthbending his rock upwards. Just as Wulong suspected, both rocks were identically shaped. The two friends lifted higher and higher, until at long last the lower tips of the rocks revealed themselves. Though both of them were deeply concentrated on their rocks, keeping such things afloat was quite a strain on them, with thick beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads and with increasingly shaky feet.

"Argh… C'mon…" Wulong was trying to give himself a pep talk to keep going, but he knew he had reached his limits. He let go of the rock just before his feet collapsed. "NO!"

All sorts of alarms went off inside Mika's head as she saw the sudden events develop as in in slow motion. Wulong's rock started to drop, but was snagged by the chain and began to swing towards Ralis. Meanwhile, his nephew dropped hold of his rock with the sudden weight increase. Now he was laying face up on the ground as two massive rocks came down to him. "RALIS!"

The rocks fell, lifting a large amount of dust in their wake. Mika was running toward the area hoping the best but expecting the worst. "Ralis! Wulong! Can you hear me!"

"[COUGH, COUGH] Here, ma'am! Just a little shaken up." Wulong answered quickly. Ralis did not answer.

"Ralis! Come on, Ralis! Answer me!" Mika insisted. Still no answer.

When the dust settled, Mika got her answer, and it was thankfully a good one. Ralis sat on the floor, his feet barely a foot from where the rock fell, his face locked in pure terror, and his arms extended as if trying to repel something. He was breathing heavy, unable to even utter a sound. Upon seeing her nephew safe, Mika dropped all pretenses of a tough teacher and dropped down to his side and hugged him tightly. "Oh, I am so glad you're safe! Both of you!"

After the shock of the accident subsided, the three of them made their way to the office. "S… Sifu Mika? Ma'am?" Wulong began, his tone sounding obviously shamed. "I'm sorry. I let go of the rock and almost got Ralis flattened. I… I…"

"Nah, don't worry, Wulong." Mika said, a dash of guilt traced on her own face. "It happens. The important thing is that you're both safe and that we'll train hard so we can avoid accidents like that. Ok?" She finished by giving Wulong a gentle pat in the back.

Just as they got inside, a person in blue and white clothes started walking away from the training grounds fence and down the street. The rumble of earthbending made him look, but what he had just witnessed left him intrigued and extremely pensive. It wasn't because of the teacher or her methods; it wasn't because of the catalyst behind the accident. No… the reason he was deep in thought was because of that boy. That boy shouldn't be alive right now, but he saw it, plain as day, just before the dust blocked the view.

He didn't run out of the way on his own.

He wasn't pulled out.

There was no earthbending involved.

But there was… a gust of wind.

He thought about it over and over. It might be a fluke, or it might be a false positive, as he has seen in the past. Still, after ten years of searching, he wasn't just about to let this potential lead go.

The man made it to the nearest payphone and quickly dialed a number.

"Operator." A voice ran out.

"Yes, can you patch me in to the White Lotus HQ?" The man asked.

"Right away sir. And will this be a collect call?"

"Eh…" The man went silent for an awkward second or two. "Yes, yes."

"All right, sir. You're being patched in."

The man waited for a few moments, hearing the phone ring a few too many times for his liking. Then, an older, gruffer sounding man answered. "Yes, sir. Sorry for the collect call, sir, I'll pay for it when I get to the HQ. This is important though. I believe I have just found him. An earthbender boy, and he was airbending in front of me."

"Really?"

"I may have just found the Avatar."

-TO BE CONTINUED-


	2. The Airbending Master

REVIEW ANSWERIN' time is back! Believe it!

Daziy is SoniQ: Whoops! It's been forever since I posted something here and I forgot to use the Doc Manager to see if my formatting stuck (it didn't). Check it again if you want. I fixed the line breaks. Also, you wouldn't believe how close I was from removing the Sozin's Comet reference, but... something came into mind and... [evil grin ensues].

_**The Avatar: A New Legend**_

Chapter 2: The Airbending Master

Ralis's taste buds were having a treat. His mother's cooking was always the greatest, but even then it's not every day when she cooks his favorite meal ever. He was becoming engrossed in the meal, savoring it for all it was worth. Meili looked at his son have at the food. Seeing his face of joy and satisfaction was thanks enough in her eyes.

"I still can't believe you got mom's great cooking skills" Mika said to her sister, right before taking another bite.

"Well, you got dad's earthbending finesse, so it balances out." Meili pointed out.

"Touché." Mika conceded.

"Actually, now that we bring it up, how was today's training, dear?"

Ralis nearly choked on his food. It took him a moment to completely process what his mother had asked. He didn't know what to answer, and really didn't want to worry her. Besides, he and Mika had a certain agreement to keep the day's accident low-key for the sake of both of them.

"Training? Training… of course… the training." Ralis stammered. "It was… great! Learned a new technique and everything! Right, Aunt Mika?"

"Uh? Oh! Yeah!" Mika responded. "Uh… it was a great day! No silly rock-related accidents or anything!"

"Huh?" Howl and Meili questioned in unison.

"I mean, good day! Lots learned! All that stuff!" Mika quickly corrected and stuffed a piece of meat in her mouth to shut herself up.

The family resumed eating after that. For a while, it was an awkward silence between Meili and Mika as they exchanged suspicious and wary looks, while Howl was just merrily eating away. Howl was always bad at noticing these types of subtleties.

Then, a loud knock at the door interrupted the staredown. "Huh, who could that be?" Howl asked no one in particular. "I'll get it." He got up and went to open the door. Outside was a man sharply dressed in a dark blue coat and suit pants, white shirt and light blue tie. On his coat was a white round plaque with a particular design. Some kind of flower, Howl thought. Sadly, his knowledge of flowers extended only to tulips and roses. "Uh… hi? How can I help you?"

"Good evening sir." The man started in a rather formal matter. "Sorry if I've disturbed your dinner. I am Shen, and I am with the White Lotus. I came here to see your son."

Just immediately Howl turned around and gave quite a glare to Ralis. "Boy, what did you do this time?"

"What? No! Nothing! And there were definitely no giant rocks inv…" Ralis caught himself rambling just a few syllables too late. He looked around nervously, hoping neither his mom nor dad caught wind of what he said.

Shen let out an airy laugh and patted Howl in the shoulder. "No need to worry, sir. Your son is not in trouble. But I just wanted to have a word with him if you don't mind."

"Ehh…" Howl struggled with his decision. He turned over to his wife and to Mika, but they both looked as lost as he was. "Uh… sure? Come on in." Howl stepped out of the way and let the man in blue enter. "Name's Howl, by the way."

Shen gave a courteous nod, but proceeded without noise towards the still-wary ten-year-old. Ralis had already forgotten all about his dinner and couldn't stop looking intently at this bulky, thin-bearded man. A lot of things went through his head, like which earthbending technique would be most efficient to knock him senseless or how to respond quickly if he ever tried something funny.

Shen pulled a chair from the table and sat next to Ralis. "Hello, Ralis."

"How do you know my name?" Ralis questioned, never allowing himself to give Shen an inch.

"I suppose this may sound creepy, but I was in the vicinity of your aunt's training grounds when I saw the whole incident with the rocks happened. It should've been fatal, but somehow it wasn't"

Ralis's eyes were as big as dinner plates. His cover had just been blown. He could feel his mother's eyes burning a hole through his skull behind him. "Uh… I don't know what you're talking about. What incident? You must be mistaken!" He quickly said, trying to salvage himself.

"Don't worry, Ralis," Shen continued, oblivious of why was Ralis acting so strange. "There's nothing wrong with you. I saw you are a capable earthbender, but if I'm right, you may be so much more than that. I can definitely feel a special aura around you."

"What special aura?" Meili interjected.

"To be honest, I'm not sure." Shen leveled with the mother. "I only have what I saw and this sensation to go by, but I know one person who could tell you for certain. With your permission, I would like Ralis to meet her tomorrow afternoon."

"Wait… Just Ralis?" Mika questioned. "This is sounding a bit creepy, alright."

"You are all more than welcome to join him." Shen said in order to reassure the family. He then turned back to the focus of the conversation. "But it's important that you are there, Ralis. Think about it. I know you felt it too, when that rock was about to crush you," Ralis could still feel his mother's piercing stare behind him, which made him tense up. "you did something which moved you out of the way. It was something you never felt before. Wouldn't you want to know what that was? You could, tomorrow."

Ralis remained quiet for a moment. He looked around the room for any sign of approval or reproach from their parents. Howl was leaning in the dining room's door frame deep in thought, just taking all of the information in. Meili looked to have reservations about what Shen had just said, but then again, she might still be thinking how to address the 'accident' situation later. Even Mika wasn't giving a clear reading on her thoughts about this. Perhaps it was that she was going back in her mind to the moment of the accident.

That moment. It has replayed mercilessly in his head for the past few hours. Shen was right: Ralis should not be alive right then, but he was. He clearly remembered the big boulder closing in on top of him. But then he also felt something. It was faint, but it was almost as if something told him to push back, so he did. And then he felt the rushing of wind right by him and the unmistakable feeling of being shoved back. He could not explain it, but he could not deny that it happened.

Ralis finally looked over to the man sitting in front of him. "Ok, I'll go. But promise me that my parents will be there. And if this turns out to be a bunch of hooey, you better not stalk us anymore."

"Deal." Shen said, extending his hand towards Ralis. The boy responded by giving a good handshake. "A vehicle will pick you all up around one in the afternoon. Now if you'll excuse me…" And with a few courteous farewells, Shen was out the door.

"Well…" Mika said after a moment of awkward silence. "… That was sudden."

Howl closed in on his son and put a hand on his shoulder. "So, son… are you really sure about this?"

Ralis responded by shaking his head left and right. "But… something weird did happen today. It keeps nagging at me, and if I can at least satisfy that nagging, then why not check it out?"

"Oh, yeah…" Meili suddenly became less quiet and more menacing. "About what happened today…"

Ralis sighed deeply and hung his head in defeat. "I knew this was coming."

* * *

><p>The ride was very smooth if a bit long in the tooth. When they found out they were going to Central Omashu, they were all shocked. Mika groaned just remembering the length of the trip and the big traffic that it would entail. Thankfully, there wasn't that much traffic that day, and the wonderful vistas of the city were breathtaking. They finally stopped in front of a large three-story building, where Shen was standing to greet them.<p>

"Welcome to the White Lotus HQ in Omashu." Shen said. Ralis noticed that despite the welcome, the building itself had no sign that it was used by the White Lotus or any other specific organization. It was just a plain boring building from the outside. As Shen escorted them in, the inside looked even weirder to the young boy. Instead of finding some office building lobby, this lobby was filled with round tables that had a sort of tabletop game that he could not recognize, but could notice a few people playing, and they were getting quite into it from the looks of it.

Shen opened a door on the far side of the room and motioned the family to go in. Once inside, the whole scenery changed. They were inside an expansive, intricately designed room, with the symbol of the white lotus etched in the pillars, walls and ceiling. There were tables and monitors everywhere, and people walking back and forth. There was a wall with an enormous map of the world nations with several light blue pins placed in all of the nations. There were a bunch of green pins all over the Earth Republic, most with a tiny note accompanying it. Ralis couldn't help but notice how one of the green pins was right on the street he lived in.

"Has she arrived?" Ralis overheard Shen speaking with another man there.

"Yes. She's in the meditation room, waiting for the child." The second man answered. "Is that him?"

"Hopefully. We'll see what she says." Shen continued walking, and the rest of the family continued behind him. They walked up some stairs, where the hustle and bustle of the people was quieter, and eventually made it to a large double door. Shen then turned to his four guests. "This is as far as I go. Please go inside and meet the master."

Ralis and his family went through the double doors. Inside was a simpler room to the one before it, perfectly cylindrical with only four round pillars around it. On the far side an old silver-haired lady sat meditating. Her yellow and red robes gave the distinct look of an airbender. When the doors closed, the woman looked up to the people inside, revealing blue arrow tattoos in her hands and forehead.

When Mika saw the old woman's face, her mouth went agape and she started tapping Meili's shoulder incessantly. "Is that…? Is that…?"

"Stop that!" Meili complained. "What? Do you know her from somewhere?"

"Not personally. But if the bending world is right, she's one of the biggest airbending masters in the world!"

A hearty elderly laugh filled the room after Mika's comment. "Well, I wouldn't say that." The old lady said as she began to stand up. In full height, she didn't look to be that much taller than Ralis, though he noted that she was hunching a bit. "I'm just a regular old lady. You can just call me Jinora."

"Master Jinora…" Mika said, almost trancelike. "I can't believe I really get to meet a bonafide airbending master!"

"She's not exactly here to pal around with you, you know." Howl reminded his sister-in-law.

"Oh, be quiet and let me bask." Mika responded.

Jinora walked a bit closer to the family of four and addressed them. "Ralis, is it? Would you mind pulling a chair from the corner over here?" Ralis was quick to act and brought a chair from a set, then tried to set it so the airbending master could sit. "Oh, no, no. The chair is not for me, but for you. As for your family, please sit in the other chairs."

"Really?" Ralis wondered, taking into consideration Jinora's apparent frail figure.

"I may not look it, but I am very strong." Jinora explained. "Please sit. I don't want to hear you complaining you have to sit down in the middle of the session."

"The middle of what?"

"Don't worry. It's just a harmless meditation ceremony. All I need you to do is sit still."

Ralis decided to obey in order to speed things along. Jinora began by lighting up a couple of incense sticks and placing them around Ralis and her, and then she walked over behind the boy and put her hands on his shoulders. Ralis could hear the slow, rhythmic breathing near his head, and wondered what she was doing back there. Then, he felt something. It felt distant, but he could recognize it was the same sensation he had yesterday at his aunt's training grounds. He was clearly in no danger, but somehow the airbending master was able to tap into that sensation again, and keep it there constantly.

After two minutes of awkwardly sitting still, Jinora took her hands off Ralis's shoulders, and motioned his family members to come closer. "My dear, you are something else. The light of Raava surrounds you in a most intense manner."

"Light of… Raava?" Mika asked, though her face looked like that she already knew where this was going. "H… How?"

"I've always had a deep connection with the spiritual world." Jinora answered, and then turned to Ralis. "And though you may not realize it, you have a great potential to have that connection as well. After all, you are the great bridge between humans and spirits."

"The great br…" Meili stopped mid-question, and looked in shock at his husband, who looked just as shocked as she was.

Ralis was getting quite ticked of seeing so many shocked faces and no explanation. "Spiritual connection? Great bridge? Can you tell me what it all means so I can be shocked as well? A straight answer would be great."

"Oh, I apologize." Jinora said. "I should be more direct, Avatar Ralis."

"Wait, 'Avatar' is not my name, it's just Ralis, so you were sa…" Ralis's words died right in his mouth. His head was trying to process what he had just heard. "Wait… did… did you just… just say…"

"Yes."

"… Avatar?"

"That's right, young Avatar."

Ralis's face of shock was even greater than that of his parents or his aunt. Was this old woman implying what he thought she was implying? "I've always heard stories of the Avatars in the past, but I thought that was ancient history. A… and now you're telling me that _I'm_ the… no, it can't be."

"My dear boy, cast your mind to that time with the boulder incident." Jinora suggested. 'Again with the boulder incident', thought Ralis. "Did you not feel a power different from your own, yet still strangely familiar? I am sure you did, as you did just a few moments ago. I felt it too."

Ralis made a pouty face at this. He could feel that this thing could change his whole lifestyle in one instant; though how far it could reach he could hardly comprehend. On the other side, he knew Jinora was right, and he could not deny it. "Ohhhh… ok. You're right. But… why this? Why now?"

"To be honest, we thought it would take longer to find you. The Earth Republic's population boomed in the last thirty years. It was a blessing to find you now." Jinora placed her hand in Ralis's shoulder and looked at him straight in the eye. "Now, more than ever, the world needs its Avatar. There are invisible forces at work that seek to throw the very existence of humanity into chaos. This may seem like a lot to take in, but we need you to take your mantle as the Avatar as soon as possible."

"Way to lay it on thick there, Master Jinora." Mika commented from the sidelines.

"Of course, he will not be doing all this alone." Jinora clarified. "Ralis, with the bad, so will the good rise. Masters of each bending trade will teach you everything you need to know. Friends and family will support you. And as your spiritual connection grows stronger, you'll be able to access abilities only the Avatar can."

"Eh… thanks." Ralis said, his voice trailing off. "That's reassuring." He dropped his gaze to the floor as the weight of his new calling began to weigh in on him. Could he do it? He was only ten years old and didn't have a single clue how the world worked. These White Lotus guys must be crazy to dump all this on a child, he thought. He would be way in over his head if he even tried to show himself to anybody proclaiming he was the Avatar.

Noticing his son's mental predicament, Howl decided to step forward. "Ralis, remember when your mother asked you to clean your room and didn't give you any help? She didn't expect you to get it right the first time, she just wanted to see you do it, so you could do it better next time. And your Aunt Mika certainly didn't expect you to pull off complicated earthbending moves right the first time. It all comes with practice, with giving it your all, and taking it one step at a time. You're still ten; you have enough time to get the hang of it."

Ralis turned his gaze upwards to his father. He was a simple man, but he knew a good deal of simple truths that he said helped him through his life so far and was not afraid to share them. This one, however, hit the nail in the head. With a smile and a nod, Ralis let his father know that was just what he needed. Ralis then turned to Jinora and met her gaze.

"Alright, I'll do it. I accept my new life as the Avatar."

**-To be continued-**


	3. Goodbye, Childhood

REVIEW ANSWERIN' time is lo... wait, what? No material? How dare you force him out of a job!? He has a wife and kids!

_**The Avatar: A New Legend**_

Chapter 3: Goodbye, Childhood

"What?"

"Yep."

"You're…?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"It's true."

"No way!"

"Way."

Wulong could not get over his shock. When Ralis told him, he thought it was just some prank or joke, but as his friend kept explaining that day's story, that possibility became less and less likely.

Wulong tried to wrap it all around his head, though. "You, Ralis, humble boy from the family of the 'Unknowns', are actually the supreme master overlord of the land, winds, embers and seas?"

Ralis just laughed at his friend's exaggerated description. "I don't know if 'supreme master overlord' is actually part of the job description. But who knows?"

"Oh, come on!" Wulong began to explain his reasoning. "You are the Avatar. You lucked out into becoming an instant celebrity! You will have all sorts of adoring fans, and people who will be more than happy to serve you! And perhaps a deep international Avatar account in the Bank of Ba Sing Se. You are set! Not to mention being the Avatar doesn't hurt your chances with the ladies!"

Ralis stared at Wulong with a face of skepticism. "Really? Celebrity? Bank accounts? Hey, genius, did you even know what the Avatar _was _before I told you?"

To that question, Wulong could only look back at Ralis with a lost stare and an occasional blink. "… Your point being…?"

"I'm serious, man!" Ralis exclaimed. "You ask me, I don't even know half the stuff one is supposed to know about the Avatar, period. Now I have to learn all this stuff about spiritual connection, and learn to bend the other elements, and whenever I think about that my mind goes all over the place, and it makes me go to my happy place."

Wulong looked at his friend, understandably weirded out. "Whoa, OK. Let's not go to that happy place. Dude, you don't need to worry about a thing! You are the Avatar, you will master all the elements. I mean, you mastered how to make bacon waffles when we were six."

That earned a good laugh from Ralis. He could still remember his mom's face when she saw the nasty mess in the kitchen after their experiment that one time.

"Besides," Wulong continued. "You have me, your bud. With me helping you out, you'll be a master in no time."

* * *

><p>"This is test number 1." Wulong said as soon as he turned on his dad's camcorder. "Airbending! Our esteemed Avatar Ralis has already experimented airbending when he used it to barely avoid certain death by crushing."<p>

"Can you please stop reminding me of that crushing incident?!" Ralis shouted to the camera.

"As you can see," Wulong continued, seemingly disregarding his friend's outburst. "Ralis is up and ready in position on the right. To the left of the screen is an industrial-sized fan, courtesy of Ralis's own father. Now we will help Ralis fine-tune his airbending by getting him to cut the increasingly strong winds."

"Wait, what was that last part?"

"And we begin!" Wulong extended an arm into the shot, showing a remote control on his fist. He pushed the button labeled "1", turning the fan in its lowest setting. Its lowest setting, however, was still strong enough to force Ralis into a defensive earthbender stance and put his hands up to avoid being knocked out. "Hey, Ral! Just airbend the wind away!"

"WHAAAAT?!" Ralis shouted. He could obviously barely hear anything past the gusts of wind.

"Just…" And then the camera shot moved all over the place. "… cut the wind away! Like this!"

The camera refocused on Ralis as he started flailing his arms around, first up and down, then sideways. Despite his best efforts, he was not moving the wind out of his face.

"No, no!" Wulong shouted, and the camera once again was all over the place. "Put your back into it! Sweeping motions!"

"You're contradicting yourself!" Ralis shouted back, but went ahead and tried to move his entire arm with his shoulders in exaggerated motions. So far, nothing was working.

"Hmm… perhaps this needs a bit of extra incentive." Wulong noticed, and once again showed the remote control and pushed the button labeled "3". The fan's motor cranked up and a blew stronger and stronger winds, to the point that Ralis could barely keep his arms in front.

"WULONG! STOP THIS CRAZY THIIIING!"

And then Ralis lost his stance and flew right out of the shot.

"Eh… cut?"

* * *

><p>"Ok, test 2." The camera was up again, and this time, Wulong was inside the shot. "There, no more shaky camera issues."<p>

"You say it like that was the only problem last time." Ralis complained.

"Sure, we hit a bump with the last test, but now we have a good new idea. With this hose" Wulong picked up a water hose from the floor, "we will give our Avatar the water needed to begin waterbending. Simple and harmless, like I promised."

"And I am thankful for that." Ralis answered, instinctively rubbing his head, even though the pain had dulled.

Wulong then pointed the hose towards Ralis and began counting down. "Are we ready? Three, two, one…"

Then nothing. The hose was not producing any water. "Uh, hello? Any water home? I think this hose end thinghy is broken. But I think my dad has another one. Maybe I'll see if…"

Suddenly the camera cut to Ralis and Wulong standing like nothing had happened. The hose on Wulong's hand, however, was entirely different. "Test 2, take 2." Wulong said. "I like this hose end thinghy, it looks like a pistol. But don't worry, buddy, it'll be gentle as a breeze."

"Here's hoping." Ralis said, then set himself in position. "Ok, I'm ready."

Wulong then pointed the sprayer pistol to Ralis and began counting down. "Three, two, one… go!"

Suddenly, a massive pressurized blast hit Ralis squarely in the gut, making him double back in pain. "Augh! My kidneys!"

"I'M SORRY!" Wulong quickly apologized. Instead of tending for his friend, however, he was more curious about the hose. "I dunno what happened. I thought you could… AAAAAAGH! My nose! Why did I point that thing at my face?!"

* * *

><p>"Alright… test 3." Wulong announced. He walked over to the center of the shot, where Ralis was putting the finishing touches on a barbecue grill. "Let's try some firebending."<p>

"You know, I'm having second thoughts about this…" Ralis said, dropping a bag of charcoal in the grassy floor.

"Don't sweat it. We have a controlled environment here. The flames will be small and controllable by even the biggest firebending amateur, namely you." Wulong then pulled out a box of matches and a crumpled newspaper page from his pocket. He set the paper in an elongated form, lit it on fire with the match, and lowered it into the charcoal. The coal started to glow a warm orange in some places, but so far no flames were visible.

"Let me get the camera." Wulong picked up the camcorder from its spot and pointed it at the center of the barbecue. "Any minute now we'll be able to begin the firebending demonstration."

"Eh… with what?" Ralis asked. "The embers are so small, there's no flames to go on."

Wulong kept the camera pointed at the coals, searching for a sign of life. "Well… dang. I guess the curse is still alive."

"Curse?" Ralis wondered.

"Well, it seems I can't turn on a barbecue for the life of me. Tried at least ten times, and all ended in failure."

"Well, then, this was incredibly well thought out, then." Ralis said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. He turned around and away from the grill, only to tap one of its feet with his ankle. The grill suddenly toppled over, spilling all of the lit coal on the grass and igniting it into flames.

"Oh! Holy crap! Holy crap!" Wulong screamed in panic.

"What?! What did I do? Why did this happen to me?" Ralis yelled, running around like a headless chicken.

"Quick! Where's that hose? Bring that hose over…"

* * *

><p>"Well, that sucked." Ralis lamented. He was pitch black and covered with soot, but he was ok despite the botched lessons. He and Wulong sat down at the front porch of Ralis's house and basically flopped down from tiredness.<p>

"I don't know what went wrong." Wulong wondered. "I did just like Sifu Mika would've done and made unorthodox tests. Why didn't it work?"

Ralis could only look at his friend with an incredulous face. "Gee. I wonder why."

The two friends looked at each other with sort of suspicious looks in their faces. After a short while, though, they just burst out laughing.

After the mirth had subsided, Ralis and Wulong laid on the floor, staring at the clouds pass by in peaceful silence.

"Ralis, level with me." Wulong interrupted the silence. "Do you think we can still be friends, hang out and do stuff like this? You know, since you'll be all over the world and stuff?"

"Why do you say that?" Ralis asked. "We're always going to be best buds, no matter what. Besides, we can always call each other and send letters and whatnot." Ralis went quiet for a while. He suddenly did not dare to look at Wulong in the face. He knew he had to say it, but as much as he went over it in his head, he could not find an easy way to say it. He just had to go ahead and say it.

"Wulong." Ralis began. He waited until Wulong gave him his undivided attention to continue. "I… I'm leaving. Real soon."

"Wh… what do you mean?" Wulong wondered.

"I have to start my training in earnest." Ralis explained. "Next week I'll be heading off to the Southern Air Temple to begin with airbending. I… I dunno when I'll be back."

Wulong was silent for a moment. Ralis was still not facing him, afraid to see how Wulong reacted to the news. He knew all too well what this meant. It was not just breaking up the team for a while, as Ralis knew that Wulong did not exactly mesh well with other kids their age.

"That's…" Wulong began. Ralis braced himself for whatever was coming. "That's… AWESOME!"

"Huh?" Ralis was completely taken off guard by Wulong's reaction.

"Yeah! Think about it! In no time you'll be a master airbender. You'll be traveling the world, meeting new people… meeting the ladies…"

"Shut up!" Ralis shouted in between laughs.

"This is the opportunity of a lifetime! You'd be an idiot not to take it up because of some unreasonable bizarre thing tethering you to suburbia town."

Ralis took a moment to take in what Wulong just told him. In his own way, Wulong may have done the most selfless thing Ralis has seen him do. This was quite unlike him to do. "Are you sure? Are you ok with this?"

"Me?" Wulong questioned. "Come on! It's not like we'll suddenly become estranged. Oh, I will bombard your mailbox and the phone bill may go through the roof, but you're not getting away from me that easy. I'll be obnoxiously inseparable, dahling."

Ralis felt relieved. After hearing Wulong's take on the situation, he felt like a heavy load was taken off his shoulders. His new life was indeed going to change a lot of things, but they weren't necessarily going to be bad. Ralis reflected on these things for a short while in silence.

Then, he remembered something. "One more thing. There is a bit of good news for you." Ralis said, with a smile creeping in his face. "Aunt Mika is coming with me. So rest assured, no more obtuse rock pushing puzzles for a while."

"Wow…" Wulong suddenly became very quiet and pensive. "I… Sifu Mika's not going to be around. I… I think I'm gonna cry… of happiness!" He exploded loudly, sporting a massive smile on his face. "See? Great things keep happening, for you _and_ for me! Man, this almost feel like a vacation now."

Ralis looked at Wulong with suspicious eyes over his outburst. "You're gonna miss us, aren't you?"

"Oh, big time."

* * *

><p>One week later…<p>

"Now don't forget to bathe every day."

"I won't, mom."

"And brush your teeth."

"I know."

"And listen to what the masters have to tell you."

"I will, mom."

"And try not to break any old statues. They're very valuable."

"Don't worry, mom."

"Oh, and Ralis?"

"Yes, mom?"

Meili took a moment to look at her son. She had been so flustered all week long to make sure he had everything he needed on his luggage and only now did she stop and think. At that moment, the reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks: her only child was leaving their home, and she wasn't sure when she was going to see him again. As much as she tried, she couldn't hold back the tears.

"I... I…"

"I think what your mother's trying to say is that we're so proud of you." Howl interjected. He was more composed than his wife, despite clearly looking sad at his son's departure. "You're showing a good deal of maturity for your age, and if I know you, and I do, you'll be able to rise to the challenges life set in your path." He then walked close to his son and pulled him in for a tight embrace. "I love you, son. Remember you'll always have a home here, ok?"

"Ok." That was all that Ralis could say without sounding choked up.

Howl had barely loosened his grip on his son when Meili went in for a hug of her own, coupled with a handful of kisses on the boy's forehead. "Be safe." She whispered in his ear a few moments before letting him go.

"Come on, big guy, let's go." Mika said after stuffing the last piece of luggage on the back seat of her car. "If I know your mom, this is the part where she turns into a helpless blubbering mess."

Ralis silently nodded, and then slowly walked away from his parents and towards the car's passenger door. Before climbing in the seat, he noticed a figure right next door. Wulong was looking at the scene by the car unfold from afar and decided to step back. When Ralis turned to look his way, he just smiled and gave a single nod. Though he was smiling, Ralis could notice the sadness in his eyes, but he knew there was little to do now, except smile and nod in return. Ralis then climbed into the car, and after a few words exchanged between Meili and Mika, they were on their way.

Ralis looked out of the window to places he was familiar with: his neighborhood, the house of his first crush Huilang, the park he usually played in, the candy and treats store, his aunt's training school. His heart felt heavy, knowing this would probably be the last time he would see this place in quite a while.

For a couple of blocks, there was an air of awkward silence in the car. Mika was tempted to turn on the radio to drown it out, but thought better of it. "I bet you're nervous." She said.

Ralis nodded. "Ever had a knot in your belly?"

"Yup. I know the feeling." Mika answered. "Tell you what; we'll stop for smoothies on the way. That'll help you."

Ralis nodded again, and made an odd sound that resembled an affirmative.

"By the way, did you think about why I'm going with you?" Mika asked.

Mika's question made Ralis take pause. His butterflies had left his belly, as he was considering what she could mean with that. "Well… I figured it's because so I can have family nearby, and so my mom can feel reassured I'll be ok?"

"Well, yeah." Mika conceded. "But there's one more thing. I had a talk with the guys at the White Lotus and said I'd be best suited to be your earthbending teacher, since I already taught you some stuff, and they agreed!"

Ralis's eyes were starting to open wide like dinner plates. "Oh… Oh, no. You don't mean…"

"Oh, yeah!" Mika answered with a sly smile on her face. "When you're not blowing puffs of air with the monks, you'll be with me! And I have been thinking of some new techniques for you to try. Oh, the possibilities!"

Ralis hung his head when he realized the hard labor he was about to be put through. "Oh, the back aches!"

**-To be continued-**


End file.
